30 THE OHIO.
ment, like so many silvery arrows, produced a shower of light, while the
pursuer with open jaws seized the stragglers, and, with a splash of his tail,
disappeared from our view. Other fishes we heard uttering beneath our
bark a rumbling noise, the strange sounds of which we discovered to
proceed from the white perch, for on casting our net from the bow we
caught several of that species, when the noise ceased for a time.
Nature, in her varied arrangements, seems to have felt a partiality
towards this portion of our country. As the traveller ascends or descends
the Ohio, he cannot help remarking that alternately, nearly the
whole length of the river, the margin, on one side, is bounded by lofty
hills and a rolling surface, while on the other, extensive plains of the
richest alluvial land are seen as far as the eye can command the view.
Islands of varied size and form rise here and there from the bosom of
the water, and the winding course of the stream frequently brings you to
places where the idea of being on a river of great length changes to that
of floating on a lake of moderate extent. Some of these islands are of
considerable size and value; while others, small and insignificant, seem as
if intended for contrast, and as serving to enhance the general interest of
the scenery. These little islands are frequently overflowed during great
freshets or floods, and receive at their heads prodigious heaps of drifted
timber. We foresaw with great concern the alterations that cultivation
would soon produce along those delightful banks.
As night came, sinking in darkness the broader portions of the river,
our minds became affected by strong emotions, and wandered far beyond
the present moments. The tinkling of bells told us that the cattle which
bore them were gently roving from valley to valley in search of food, or
returning to their distant homes. The hooting of the Great Owl, or the
muffled noise of its wings as it sailed smoothly over the stream, were
matters of interest to u s ; so was the sound of the boatman's horn, as it
came winding more and more softly from afar. When daylight returned,
many songsters burst forth with echoing notes, more and more mellow
to the listening ear. Here and there the lonely cabin of a squatter
struck the eye, giving note of commencing civilization. The crossing of
tha stream by a deer foretold how soon the hills would be covered with
snow.
Many sluggish flat-boats we overtook and passed: some laden with
produce from the different head-waters of the small rivers that pour their
tributary streams into the Ohio; others, of less dimensions, crowded with
THE OHIO. 31
emigrants from distant parts, in search of a new home. Purer pleasures
I never felt; nor have you, reader, I ween, unless indeed you have felt
the like, and in such company.
The margins of the shores and of the river were at this season amply
supplied with game. A Wild Turkey, a Grouse, or a Blue-winged
Teal, could be procured in a few moments; and we fared well, for,
whenever we pleased, we landed, struck up a fire, and provided as we
were with the necessary utensils, procured a good repast.
Several of these happy days passed, and we neared our home, when,
one evening, not far from Pigeon Creek (a small stream which runs into
the Ohio, from the State of Indiana), a loud and strange noise was heard,
so like the yells of Indian warfare, that we pulled at our oars, and made
for the opposite side as fast and as quietly as possible. The sounds increased,
we imagined we heard cries of " m u r d e r a n d as we knew that
some depredations had lately been committed in the country by dissatisfied
parties of Aborigines, we felt for a while extremely uncomfortable.
Ere long, however, our minds became more calmed, and we plainly discovered
that the singular uproar was produced by an enthusiastic set of
Methodists, who had wandered thus far out of the common way, for the
purpose of holding one of their annual camp meetings, under the shade
of a beech forest. Without meeting with any other interruption, we
reached Henderson, distant from Shippingport by water about two hundred
miles.
When I think of these times, and call back to my mind the grandeur
and beauty of those almost uninhabited shores; when I picture to myself
the dense and lofty summits of the forest, that everywhere spread
along the hills, and overhung the margins of the stream, unmolested by
the axe of the settler ; when I know how dearly purchased the safe navigation
of that river has been by the blood of many worthy Virginians;
when I see that no longer any Aborigines are to be found there, and
that the vast herds of elks, deer and buffaloes which once pastured on
these hills and in these valleys, making for themselves great roads to the
several salt-springs, have ceased to exist; when I reflect that all this
grand portion of our Union, instead of being in a state of nature, is now
more or less covered with villages, farms, and towns, where the din of
hammers and machinery is constantly heard; that the woods are fast
disappearing under the axe by day, and the fire by night; that hundreds
of steam-boats are gliding to and fro, over the whole length of the